


Veludo's Lost Souls

by radiozeros



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Mankai Company, Angst, But pretty much everyone has a part in this story at some point, Characters may die, Cults, Death Mark and NG inspired, Gen, Ghost Hunting, Godza is uh, Horror, I'll add any character that I've missed when the time comes, Izumi is tired of everyone and just wants to find her dad, Mankai Apartments, Masumi and Sakuya are childhood friends, Not Beta Read, Paranormal Investigators, Please understand that this fic is a horror/thriller and a lot of spooky stuff is gonna happen, Psychic Abilities, Psychological Horror, Supernatural Elements, THERE MAY BE GORE, There will be some ships but none are focused, This takes place in like Year 2 of canon???, Yes her dad is still missing, Yukio is a skilled psychic median and Izumi takes after him, a cult lol, eldritch horror, this is gonna be long, we'll see how this goes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:07:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28014429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiozeros/pseuds/radiozeros
Summary: Follow your intuition. Don’t second guess.After the disappearance of a skilled psychic median, his daughter Izumi Tachibana takes on the duty of uncovering the mystery behind his disappearance while also carrying his legacy by continuing his various jobs surrounding paranormal activities and unsolved crimes.What she doesn't realize is that all of these jobs may be connected to the disappearance of her father. When the police turn up unhelpful in the investigation, she has to take matters into her own hands and get help from those she meets along the way.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 50





	1. Mankai Apartments

Standing in front of an office door, the keys burned in Izumi's hand. The only thing that remains of her father stays in that office, untouched by the investigators. 

Out of everything her family was capable of all these years, no one could have ever predicted this. A single disappearance has torn apart the family business with no trace left behind.

Or at least that’s what the public thought.

Her father’s private office has been the only location that hasn’t been searched for clues. And she knows there’s something in there that will lead her to him, she feels it.

The strong pull towards this place was what led her to lie to the police, or at least convince them that the office at home was the only one he had. It wasn’t hard. Everyone already said he spent all his time in his office, no one mentioned there was more than one.

Besides, she was the only one with the spare key. He gave it to her before he left so he had to have known something was going to happen. There can’t be any other reason.

Izumi held the key to her chest as she took a deep breath, running her finger over the engravents.

_Follow your intuition. Don’t second guess._

It was something he had always told her growing up. No matter how scared she is, she can’t let him down now. Everything he’s taught her leads her to this moment.

She took a step towards the door and slid the key in with ease and twisted it. Click! The door is unlocked and now all she has to do is turn the door knob…

The door opened with a creak, revealing a dark room. She stepped inside and flicked the lightswitch.  
There was a loud buzz as the lights flickered on. The room seemed to be the same as he left it. Other than his desk, the room was tidy and organized. There was a cork bulletin board above his desk and many pinned notes grouped in different corners. There were a couple papers in a disarray on his desk next to his laptop and a standard desk phone. On the other wall there were two tall filing cabinets.

Izumi closed the door behind her as she took in the room. This was the room her father spent all of his time in. The air still lingered with his presence, the smell of smoke and his old cologne. He kept his business here. He devoted his life to using his gift to solve mysteries. Typically his jobs surrounded the supernatural, but there were a few unsolved disappearances that he used his gift to help do what the police couldn't.  
It wasn’t for long until he himself turned into one of the unsolved mysteries and handed his life’s work to Izumi to finish.  
It was going to happen eventually.

“It’s what he gets for always getting into situations that don’t involve him.” Is what everyone said in response to his disappearance. The public, friends, family, mother. All were skeptical of his passion. 

Izumi felt rage bubbling up inside of her as she remembered a conversation she overheard her mother having with her friends.  
_“He probably jumped too deep into someone else’s business and they didn’t like it.”  
“He should’ve just left it to the police.”  
“He would always just get so nosy.”_

She could’ve easily joined the conversation to argue against their conclusions, but she couldn’t bring herself to.  
Sharing his gift of premonition and clairvoyance, she didn’t want to experience the same ridicule. She felt hopeless in that moment, clutching the same key and knowing what she had to do.

Standing in the middle of his office with the key in her hand, she could feel her heart beating out of her chest. The way her breath hitched as the atmosphere of the room grew thick and weighed on her like a pound of bricks.  
She closed her eyes and made an attempt to concentrate. Focus on each items in the room and follow what you’re drawn to.

Getting into the zone, she felt the walls and floor fade away, and she was floating in the air with the objects surrounding her and even they slowly started to go until….

_RINGGGGG!!!!!_

Letting out a gasp, Izumi jerked back into herself and eyes flew open. She looked around the room frantically until she focused on the phone.

“Why would anyone be calling here…”

She took a step towards the desk and her hand hovered over the phone. Hesitating, she glanced to the key.

Follow your intuition. Don’t second guess.

“Okay dad.”

She grabbed the phone off the hook and held it to her ear. “Hello?”

A nervous sounding high pitched man answered on the other line. “AH!! Y-You answered!! Hi! Hello! Is this the psychic medium Tachibana, right right?”

The answer seemed to come easy to Izumi.  
“Yes. Well, this is his daughter, Izumi Tachibana. Yukio isn’t in office right now. Um, he’s…” She trailed off, her eyes wandering around the sticky notes to find something to tell the man. 

There was shuffling on the other line before a reply came through, “O-Oh… So what they were saying on the news was true. Shoot! I’m sorry Ma’am! I-I-I-I can’t imagine what it feels like to lose your parent! And to think I reminded you of the tragedy, I’m so sorry! I-”

“He’s not dead, just missing. So it’s okay, if you have any information please let me know.”

There were a variety of addresses and notes on what the job was and whether or not it was an ongoing investigation. There were a few scratched out.  
_Yanai Manor, poltergeist, finished.  
Mizuno Enterprise, Masayoshi’s disappearance, abandoned.  
Ouka High, strange occurrences (supernatural? paranormal?), ongoing.  
God-za Theater, violent shadow figures (paranormal?), ongoing.  
Arisugawa Estate, vague descriptions of what could be a ghost?, not started._

What could he have been getting into…?

“So is that what you’re doing? Continuing his business while searching for him?”

A note with an address caught her attention. It was a location with a name and a time. There was no address or description.  
_Veludo way. Sakyo Furuichi. May 24th 6:30PM._

That was a few days before he went missing.

“I guess so... Wait, who is this?”

“Ah! I’m so sorry! I’m Matsukawa Isuke, I’m the owner of the Mankai Apartments in Veludo Way aaaand we’ve been having a couple of disturbances that have caused some concern for the residents living here. I was just wondering if we could get someone here to check it out? Of course, if you can’t I completely understand! No worries, I’ll just go and uhhh-”

Izumi grabbed the sticky note from the wall. “Wait, you said you were located in Veludo Way, right?”

“Yes, we are.”

“Okay, I’ll do it. Could you please tell me the address and your preferred meeting day and time?”

After a long phone call trying to squeeze information out from a spazzy Matsukawa, Izumi set the phone down and looked at the list of notes she got from him.

One of the residents of Mankai Apartments have been experiencing some paranormal disturbances that have left him unnerved. Matsukawa went on a ramble about how he was just a kid and didn’t know who he could go to for this type of stuff so he resorted to just confiding in the landlord to contact someone, as he should. So he tried to contact her father’s business despite knowing he went missing recently... 

“Veludo Way... “

Izumi held the note for his meeting arrangement with Sakyo Furuichi. That was in Veludo Way too so this Matsukawa guy could have some idea on who he is and where she could find him. He must know something.

Standing in his office, she let out a deep sigh before glancing around at his belongings. There’s still so much to search for here. Anything could be a clue for his whereabouts, but so far Veludo Way is her only lead. She has a gut feeling that this is the right direction.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find you dad.”

\---

“Yo! Yo! Yo! Kazunari Miyoshi back here again with the spooky boys!!” A young man with longer blonde hair shouted as he grinned, sticking out his tongue and flashed a peace sign towards his phone camera. He was sitting on the floor of a metal van, surrounded by blankets. Multiple messages appear on the screen and explode in enthusiasm as the numbers in the corner increase at a fast rate.

Someone above him snickered, he glanced up at the source. “Filming already? Shouldn’t that wait til we’re like, I dunno, beginning the investigation?” 

“It’s just a live on Instablam right now! I’m just excited to get started.” Kazunari laughed as he lifted himself up with help of a red cooler in the corner and slid towards a smirking man with weird light brown hair, bringing him into the frame of the camera. The man lifted his hand and briefly saluted the camera with two fingers.

“This is our leader, our star, Setzer!~” Kazunari introduced him, poking the other boy’s cheek playfully (which the other pushed away immediately). 

“Banri Settsu. I guess I’m more or less the brains of the operation.” He shrugged, tossing a little metal box back and forth in his hands.

“And def the looks!” Kazunari chimed, which caused an annoyed eye roll in reaction. He laughed, throwing his arm around his shoulder and pulling him down to his height.

“Are you guys done messing around? Can you just tell me why I’m here. I thought I said last time that I didn’t want to do one of these again.” 

Kazunari looked towards a ginger standing in the corner and tore himself from Banri, bounding to the boy with the camera. “Tenten~! We were just messing around last time, it meant no harm, ya know!” He purred and snaked his arm around the boys waist, hugging him.

“Hey, don’t touch me!” Tenma protested, attempting to pull himself away and fold himself into the corner but Kazunari held him in a tight grip.

“Tenten here is our superstar. He’s a little grumpy but he means well.”

Banri snickered off camera before joining in on the teasing, popping into frame and resting his arm on the ginger’s shoulders. “Tenma Sumeragi, the one and only. It’s okay, you can admit you like spending time with us.”

“Sure, but not like this! I swear if any freaky shit starts going down, I’m immediately out. Got that?”

Kazunari hummed, “Okayyy~.”  
Banri just rolled his eyes. “Whatever, man.” 

“Okay, now get off me.”

The two let go of him, and Banri went back to his spot by the shelf with all the equipment. Kazunari held his phone camera up and slowly backed towards the computer desk, crouching down next to the guy in the chair, who was leaning back and staring at his phone with a disinterested look.

“And finally, we have the last member of the spooky boy and the most important! Why don’t you introduce yourself, Itaroon?” 

“Ah,” The man looked away from his phone, smiled, and held a peace sign up towards the camera. “I’m Itaru Chigasaki. If anything's troubling you, you can count on me.”

Kazunari pretended to swoon, “So cool~!” 

In the background, Banri snickered and joked, “So cringe.”

Itaru switched his gaze, glaring at the other one off camera. “Says you. Brains of the operation? All you have to do is be pretty on camera.” 

“Oh, come on I do more than that. You’re so annoying.” Banri stuck his tongue out at Itaru, who hummed and returned to his phone. 

“Hey now~ we all have important roles here, let’s not fight over it. Itaroon stays here and watches over us during our investigation with this sick monitor he put together and connected to our little cameras that we’ll be carrying around.” Kazunari rose from the floor and turned the phone camera around to show off the setup. 

As expected, a computer monitor was set up on the desk along with a keyboard and mouse. On the computer, a couple of screens were pulled up, but all were just black screens with labels at the top. Suddenly, one flashed on and showed the ground of the van, panning up to where Kazunari was staring at the monitor.

“Ta-da, works like a charm.” Banri said before turning off the camera and setting it back on the shelf.

Kazunari turned his own camera towards Banri and pouted, “You should’ve showed the other modes too! Liiiike nightvision, and the heat sensory mode.”

“Whatever, they can see it while we’re in there. We gotta save the battery anyway.” He shrugged and started poking at the other pieces of equipment. 

The van settled.  
Kazunari was leaning on the computer desk and staring at his phone. He had switched the camera back to selfie mode so the viewers were now just watching him read through all the live feedback from the audience. There was a variety of comments ranging from complimenting the boys on their looks to asking what they were doing to geeking out about the mechanics of ghost hunting. He’d chuckle and respond to a few here and there, but for the most part he was just watching them all join and chat.

The entire time Banri had been checking every piece of equipment to make sure they were on and working correctly. They didn’t have a lot considering ¾ of the members are still students in high school and college. Banri had enough money to be able to buy fairly expensive equipment, but he didn’t care enough to do research and buy a lot of what most professionals use.  
There was a spirit box radio that he kept turning on and off, resulting in bursts of loud radio static to explode throughout the van. Eventually, he mumbled “fuckin’ annoying thing,” before turning it off.

Tenma stayed in his spot in the corner, squeezing as if to get as far away from the others as possible. He slid down to sir on the floor, resting his hand on his knee as he scrolled through Instablam on his phone. Nerves were stirring up inside of him, insides fluttering as his heart pumped quicker and quicker. This wasn’t his ideal scene. They’ve brought him along many times, and everytime it’s the same. They always trick and tease him to get him riled up, knowing that he’s easily scared of these things.  
The first time the spirit box turned on, he flinched and nearly screamed at the sudden noise. He’s gotten used to it every time, but he never fails to flinch whenever it starts up. 

The odd one out is always Itaru. The only 24 year old man, working a fulltime job at an office, and hanging out with a bunch of 16-19 year olds. He leans back in an office chair, finger tapping repeatedly on his phone as he plays a mobile game. Day in and day out, without a care in the world, he does the same thing. They don’t care, they don’t notice. He’s only there now because Banri invited him once and he just got stuck being their only go to person with a license.  
You wouldn’t be able to ask him if he believed in this stuff because he frankly isn’t interested in speculating the rumors. He’s never seen anything on the cameras in the recent times they got together so as far as he knows, there’s nothing there. Frankly, they don’t really need him.  
Letting out a sigh, he presses the ‘Pull 10’ button on his gacha and watches a variety of characters eeee appear on screen with labels ranging from R-SR. The screen sparkles and a different character pops up in a pretty dress labeled SSR.  
A ghost of a smile appears on his face.

“Woo~! She’s a cutie!” Kazunari cheers, looking over Itaru’s shoulder. The older man gives a satisfied hum in agreement. 

There’s a loud banging on the van’s doors that gains their immediate attention.

\-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

The sun sets behind an old apartment building. The orange shine dulls as it sinks behind the shadow of the rotting building. Glints of broken glass laying across the lawns reflects the light onto the brick building. It looks almost unfinished, missing parts of the walls and entire piece of the enerance that makes it look like it’s about to collapse at any second. Broken windows were boarded up, pieces of the walls missing with a peeling paint job. If people weren’t living there, it would have a special antique charm to it. There was a white van parked outside that seemed to add an ominous feel to the entire location.

Outside, an untidy man paces back and forth in the dead, overgrown grass. He fidgets with a watch, running slender fingers over the fogged glass. He looks to have attempted to dress professionally with a brown overcoat and pants with a red bowtie, but it looks to be dirty and ragged. His hair hangs loosely over his forehead, almost falling behind his slightly cracked glasses. He’s mumbling something over and over again as he checks and shakes the watch in his hands.

_“6:30. 6:30. 6:30. Any minute now. Please please please. Now. 6:30.”_

“Matsukawa!” A cheery voice breaks through his trace. He looks up to see a bright, smiling figure break through and come running from the decaying aura circling the apartment. “Is she here yet?”

The source of the voice is a young boy with bright red hair and magenta eyes, everything about him is brimming with the colors of spring. Blooming from the dark building, the boy is a new hope as the older man straightens up and grins to greet him as he stops in front of him.

“Sakuya!” Matsukawa beams as he turns towards him, placing his hands on his hips with a wide grin. “Not yet, but she should be here uhhh…” He glances down at his watch and then looks out at the road. “Uh- um- It’s- Yes! She should be here soon!” He laughs nervously and rubs his hands together. “Everything okay in there?”

Sakuya glanced back towards the entrance, he shrugged. “Well- yeah? I’ve been trying not to be in my apartment, or at least not alone. Sometimes I feel like I’m being watched and I see something in the corner of my eye.” He frowned and sighed, his eyes downcasting. “Thank you so much for doing this. I hope I’m not too much of a burden.”

“Nonsense! This place needs a fixing up anyway!” Matsukawa lifted his hand and placed on the other’s head, giving the red locks a ruffle.

Suddenly, the screeching of a tire filled the air as a small red car rounded the corner down the street. It jerkingly slowed as it drove down the street towards them before coming to a stop in front of the apartment.

After the car turned off, a young woman opened the door and stepped out, clutching her bag that hung around her. She looked up at the apartment and grimaced immediately. 

“M-Miss Tachibana?” Matsukawa asked, staring at her. His hand went to his watch as he adjusted it awkwardly.  
Sakuya stood behind him, peering over his shoulder in curiosity. His mouth formed a small ‘o’ as she looked back at them, taking her sunglasses off and tucking them back in her hair.

“Hi,” Izumi nervously glanced behind them at the building as she approached them. She looked at Matsukawa, “Are you the owner?”

Matsukawa rushed to clean himself off brushing himself off and fixing his bowtie. “Yes ma’am! I’m Isuke Matsukawa!” He quickly bowed then pushed his glasses up as he gestured towards Sakuya. “This is the resident I was talking about. Sakuya, why don’t you introduce yourself.”

The red head frantically nodded and bowed, speaking quickly. “I’m Sakuya Sakuma! I’m so sorry for having you come all this way because of me.”

Izumi was a little taken aback, but she softened her eyes and gave a small smile. “Hey, it’s okay. don’t mind. I’m Izumi Tachibana. Where are your parents?” 

Sakuya eased up, looking down at his hands as he started tugging on the sleeves of his flannel. “Ah, well I’m living alone, Matsukawa is letting me rent out a room here.”

“Oh…” Izumi glanced between them, a crease forming between her brows. _Is this okay? He seems too young to be on his own..._

Before she could say anymore, Matsukawa clapped his hands together. “Now! Since you’re here we can get started! I also hired a group of some paranormal investigators so they can offer you some help! Let me go get them. Sakuya, you can show Izumi inside!” 

“Yes sir!” The younger boy nodded and waved Izumi to follow him as he trotted back through the lawn towards the fragile entrance.

An uneasy feeling hovering over her as the young woman watched Matsukawa bang on the white van. When she looked up at the building in front of her, she could feel a tingling sensation crawl up her body and sink into her gut. Immediately, she went stiff and she could feel a pressure pushing into her, taking the breath from her lungs. There was an overwhelming feeling of misery oozing from the old apartment building. Her eyes wandered, searching for the source, and she could feel everything around her come to a stop as she spotted it. 

There was a tall man standing in the upstairs window, but somehow it felt like he wasn’t the one making her feel this. It almost felt like whatever this relentless sense of dread is coming from right behind her. 

“Miss Izumi, you can come inside!” 

Her eyes snapped away from the man in the window as the boy called for her at the door. The dreaded feeling disappeared and she felt air fill her lungs again. She shook her head to get back to her sense as she started walking towards the door, nerves still sitting in her stomach.

The wooden floor made a loud creak as Izumi stepped through the door frame. Glancing around the looby, it had the same charm as a nearly deserted roadside motel would. It was like a community room with a front desk. There was a couch with a couple of vending machines in the corner.

When she walked farther inside, she stepped onto a red carpet in the middle of the room that made a wet noise as her shoe sank into a spot. She instantly stepped out of it and made a face of disgust when she looked down at the strange wet spot and a musty smell hit her nose.

“Um, is everything okay?” Sakuya looked at her, innocent pink eyes wide with concern. 

She couldn’t help but console him with a nod as she turned towards the front desk, setting a hand on top of it. Feeling the dusk stick to her hand, she picked her hand back up and wiped it on her jeans. The desk was caked with dust minus where the receptionist worked. 

“Yeah. Um, this place is pretty old, isn’t it?” Izumi asked the boy, turning back towards him.

He shrugged, “I think so? Matsukawa would know more about the history, but I think it’s over 20 years? I’m not sure.”

She just hummed a response before Matsukawa ran through the doorframe with three young men following behind him.

“Okay! Everyone, this is our skilled psychic medium Izumi Tachibana. Miss Tachibana, this is the investigation team I hired!” Matsukawa grinned as he introduced her to the three teenagers.

Kazunari beamed and was immediately next to her, leaning on the dusty desk as he spoke. “Yooo~! A psychic? That’s totes coolio! You’re pretty cute too. You know I think I’m a psychic and can like see the future too, like I can see me and you hitting it off pretty well in the near future.” 

“Uh-”

“Dude, we’re not here to pick up chicks, ya know.” Banri called to Kazunari, crossing arms with an annoyed expression across his face.

“Sorry~.” The blonde purred and slid back to the trio. “But like Miss Medium, if you ever wanna hit me up sometimes, yeah?” He laughed, holding his hand in the shape of a phone to his ear and shaking it. Tenma elbowed him to shut up and Kazunari responded by wrapping an arm around his shoulders and nuzzling him affectionately. 

Izumi stared at them, her eyebrows creasing together as she turned towards Matsukawa. “You hired a bunch of kids to take part in a possibly dangerous investigation?”

The older man looked between her and the group. “Well- I- They seem skilled enough! I think?” 

Kazunari butted in once again. “Hey~. We’re not kids! I’m in college, and Itaru in the van is like 26! Plus we’ve done this a couple times. Setzer bought all the cool professional equipment so we know what we’re doing, right?” 

He looked to Banri, who was staring at his phone and just hummed with a nod in response. Tenma scoffed, shaking his head.

_This is going to be one interesting night._

Sakuya had tucked himself in the background, standing in the doorway and watching the group interact. Maybe speaking up was a bad idea after all. He sighed, letting his head fall a little.

“Sakuya.” A deep voice startled him and he quickly turned to meet the face of his close friend.

“Masumi!”

The talled boy had a handsome face, tensed with strict eyes. With his gaze fixed onto Sakuya, he seemed to soften and his gentle features seemed more noticeable as he relaxed. He was wearing his Hanasaki school uniform with a large oversized winter coat over it.

“Are you okay?” 

Sakuya glanced down then towards the group conversing behind him. He turned back to Masmi with a bright smile. “Of course! But, Masumi, what are you doing here?”

“You told me people are coming at 6:30 so I wanted to too. Am I too late?”

“No…” Sakuya shifted on his feet before shaking his head and turning to let Masumi through the door. “No you’re not, we’re just talking to the median now.”

Masumi nodded and followed Sakuya as he joined the group discussion. Izumi was looking uneasy as she peered at the young investigators with an uneasy gaze. 

Matsukawa noticed the younger duo joined and immediately pushed the topic onto them. “Okay! Now that everything is settled!” It isn’t. “Why don’t we head upstairs and Sakuya can tell us all about it?”  
He urged the 7 of them into a door with only a narrow staircase that could barely fit two people side by side. There was little light in the small room, only brightened by a dim flickering light at the top. The staircase was blocky, but spiraled as it climbed the room. It was built out of wood causing every step creaked under their weight, echoing through the room, sending eerie chills down Izumi’s spine.  
Halfway up, she peered below from the center and spotted someone at the bottom of the staircase. She couldn’t make out any of the features of the person except a pair of yellow cat-like eyes looking back at her. She squinted as she leaned a little over the railing in attempt to see the stranger clearly, but she started to slow her ascent and when the other’s didn’t notice right away it caused Banri to bump into her and string of curses and complaints to leave his mouth as her just squeezed past her to continue climbing. “Sorry,” She mumbled and took her attention away to continue walking up the stairs and not inconvenience anyone else. She quickly glanced back to the stranger, but when she looked down, their cat-like eyes were nowhere to be seen.  
At the end of the group, Sakuya was trying to keep up. He has walked up and down this staircase many times, but it never gets any easier. He stared at his feet, paying attention to every step he took to get to the top. It was easy to trip and fall. It would be bad if that happened at this moment. After all, he was asking too much of them already.  
A piece of wood split as Sakuya stepped on it, causing him to grab Masumi’s jacket in front of him to keep himself from losing balance. Masumi paused, turning back to him. His face didn’t change, but as Sakuya looked up from the stairs he could see the question in his eyes. He quickly pulled his hand back and smiled at his friend. “Sorry.”  
Masumi just nodded and started back up, Sakuya following quickly behind.

At the top, Matsukawa led them into a long hallway. There were three doors on both sides of the hallway with decent distance between each other, then at the end of the hall there seemed to be another room similar to the one they just left. Similar to the lobby, this floor was unkempt. Dirt, dust and fur collected on the floor together with dead bugs and trash that would’ve fallen out of someone’s pockets. Looking closely, Izumi spotted what looked like a piece of green construction paper in the shape of a triangle sitting next to the door on the left at the end of the hallway. Wallpaper was peeling, some spots looked to have some attempt to hide it with dusty paintings and even those seem to have the same sad, grainy look to it.

“If you didn’t say this kid was living here, I would’ve figured it’d been abandoned or some shit.” Banri grumbled with a scowl, looking around at the uncleanliness of the place. He crossed his arms and kicked his foot up, sending a cloud of dust to fly in the air.  
Tenma, who had been mostly quiet and just staying close to Kazunari, suddenly sneezed so loud that he himself flinched. He glared at Banri and stepped forward to punch him in the shoulder, the other just snickered to himself. 

Walking down the hall, Matsukawa led them to the second door on the right then turned to Sakuya, who rushed forward as he fished a key out of his pocket.

“I'm sorry if there’s a bit of a mess, I tried my best to clean up before everyone showed up, but it’s been uhh...” He trailed off, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck as he held the door open for the group. They filed in and he continued talking as they were guests. “You guys can take a seat wherever you want. Do you want any drinks? I might have some… something…” 

Sakuya closed the door behind them and rushed into the kitchen. 

His apartment was simple. It wasn’t big at all and seemed almost empty. As they walked into the door, they entered a small room connected to the kitchen. The room had a table with a couple chairs and a blocky tv. There was an office chair in the corner of the room.  
The apartment was cleaner than the rest of the building, but it fit a similar state in context of the rundown “charm” the rest of the building has. Paint was peeling off of the walls, stains on the ceiling and carpet in strange places. When Izumi looked closer, in some spots, there seemed to be scratch-marks climbing up the walls.

Izumi hovered by the kitchen, watching Sakuya open the fridge and nervously tap on the surface. She noticed Masumi standing next to her and shot him a questioning glance.  
“Where did you..” She turned to look back at the other teens before shaking her head and turning her attention back to Sakuya. 

Behind them, Matsukawa led the three investigators to the table, who all found their own spot. Kazunari made the leap to grab the lone office chair and roll it to the table, spinning it as he took his seat. Banri slumped in one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs, kicking one of his legs up to the surface in an attempt to get comfortable. Between them, Tenma denied a chair and stood there as he shifted back and forth on his feet. 

“So,” Izumi cleared her throat as she began speaking. “Sakuya, how long have you been staying here?”

Sakuya stepped back from the fridge, attempting to hold a collection of water bottles and soda cans in his arms. Before Izumi got the chance to step in, Masumi was already taking some of the load away from him. Poliently thanking Masumi, Sakuya offered one of the drinks to Izumi, who took one of the waters from him.  
“Well, I moved here after I graduated, so just a couple months I guess?”

“I see, and how long have you been experiencing strange activities?”

Sakuya hummed, tapping his finger on his chin as he thought. “There’s always been weird things going on, but it’s gotten worse recently.”

“Has it ever made you feel in danger or fear for your life?”

He huffed, shifting on his feet as he glanced over at the rest of the group where Masumi was handing drinks out to everyone. Cracks of soda cans opening filled the silence for the time. “Um,” Sakuya smiled at Izumi, “Let’s sit down with everyone!” before making his way to the table and sitting with everyone else.

Izumi sighed, watching him join the rest. He seemed to blend in easily with the other teens, greeting him with wide smiles. If this meeting was set in a different place, she’d almost think the scene was a couple of close friends hanging out. Kazunari emitted that specific energy as he leaned out of his seat to hit his soda can against Sakuya’s, who laughed and played along as he cheersed Banri as well.  
Masumi and Tenma hovered next to them as they watched with a small smile over their faces. Kazunari leaned back in his chair, turning back to Tenma in an attempt to cheers him as well, but then whined and pouted when it was rejected.  
Izumi caught Masumi’s eye as they made eye contact for a second. He tensed up, looking away as he lost his smile. He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he shifted closer towards Sakuya. Strange kid. 

Glancing around the room, Izumi noticed something. Drowned out by the chattering of the energetic youths, there was a whispering voice coming from somewhere behind her. She turned to look, but all she saw was the door they just walked through. The whispering didn’t stop as she stepped towards it and placed her ear to the door in an attempt to make out the voice. 

_“Aaaangle… Maaaa….Kaaaa~”_

It seemed to be singing as the voice drew out syllables. It sounded like gibberish as she couldn’t make out the words properly.

“Tachibana!” 

Izumi jumped away from the door and turned towards the group. Matsukawa was the one who called her name, but they were all watching her and she gave them a small smile. “Sorry, I thought I heard something outside.” She glanced back to the door before walking to the group. 

“Why don’t you take a seat Miss Psychic? There’s a chair left.” Banri nodded towards the seat next to him. 

She huffed, stopping next to Matsukawa and shaking her head.  
“Thanks, but I think I’ll stand. And just call me Izumi.”


	2. New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izumi learns new information about the building and meets Sakuya's neighbors, but there seems to be something off about them... And what's this about a paper airplane loving, food-stealing blue boy that Sakuya hasn't seen in the building before?

The sun has set, leaving the room dim and lit only from the apartment’s weak lights. It was easy to tell that nothing would ever be completely silent in this building no matter how many people were (or weren’t) in the room, there would always be cracks and crumbles as the old building settled in its place.  
The group of 7 sitting and standing around the table grew quiet as everyone focused their attention on Sakuya, who sat at the head of the kitchen table. 

Izumi listened intently as the little red head explained to them the experiences he’s had since he moved into the apartment. 

“I know I said this earlier, but I moved here as soon as I graduated and was able to live on my own. It was a big accomplishment for me. Uh, I thought it was a good find because the rent was low and it’s mostly intact. I didn’t find any problems with it. There were always strange knocks and noises, and I figured it was just the building or noisy neighbors.” Sakuya paused, clearing his throat. His eyes were gliding across the faces staring back at him. He was nervous, this much attention was new to him and he still wasn’t keen on the idea of inviting them all here to help him. There’s just no place left to turn. 

He continued. “Then it got more intense. There were times where I’d feel like I was being watched, I’d get chills in a closed room, and see dark figures in random places. Um-” He glanced down at the table, his hands gripped the seat of his chair as he thought back to the past few months. “Once and awhile, there’d be this really gross smell that’d appear. It almost smelled like-” He grimaced.”Like um-”

“Like rotting flesh?”

Sakuya quickly shut his mouth and looked up as Kazunari finished his sentence. His voice was lower than usual, more serious. The others looked over at him. He was invested in the story, leaning forward in his seat with his eyes focused on Sakuya.  
Izumi sensed a strong aura pulsing off of the boy. Seeking his eyes widen with his mouth agape sent chills down her spine as a disturbing image flashed in her vision. The same cheerful teen turned pale as he stared at her in utter horror, tears in his eyes filled with despair.  
A blink and she lost it. The present scene replaced it, only slightly less disturbing. She kept herself composed, trying to ignore her vision, as she glanced at the group with her. Kazu’s friends were staring at him with confused, disgusted looks.

“What the fuck?” Banri spoke up. 

Kazunari snapped out of it and jerked up with a snicker. “Soz~ That’s kinda weird for me to say, huh? Totes out of character, hehe. I have this ex that’s had tons of spooky experiences and he told me about a time when he experienced something similar. Apparently, it’s a sign of a demon or something like that.”

“D-Demon?” Tenma looked panicked, staring at Kazunari with wide eyes as his knuckles clutched his jacket in an attempt to comfort himself.

Kazunari hummed with a nod, “Mhm!~”

“Don’t be stupid. Demons ain’t real.” Banri rolled his eyes.

Kazunari purred, nudging the other playfully. “Aww~ Don’t be a downer, Setzer~” 

This is ridiculous. Sighing, Izumi cleared her throat and their heads snapped towards her. “Let’s get back on topic, shall we? Sakuya, continue.”

“Oh, okay. Uh-” Sakuya was taken off guard from the sudden injections, but he nodded and took a deep breath as he returned to his story. “Yeah, that gross smell would show up. Whenever that smell was around, things would get worse. I started hearing something scratch at the walls, and then marks would appear in the wallpaper. Doors open and close on their own, things would move and fall on the floor without me touching them. It would start turning things on randomly. The worst thing was that it turned on my oven one night and it almost caused a fire.”

Izumi interrupted. “Sakuya, you’re acknowledging and calling something ‘it.’ So you believe that there’s something here doing all of this?”

He nodded, “Yes ma’am. I don’t know what it is, but I know it’s here. I’ve heard it, and I’ve seen it.”

“Okay,” Izumi nodded before turning to Matsukawa. “Have you ever had this place checked out for any carbon monoxide leaks? Sometimes carbon monoxide poisoning can lead to visual and auditory hallucinations. And since the building is old, it’s important to acknowledge that as a logical explanation.”

She turned towards Sakuya with a smile, placing a hand on his shoulder. “And I’m not saying I don’t believe you. I definitely feel a strong presence here, maybe even multiple. I’m just doing this so we can rule out anything that may alter the investigation. Okay?”

“Ah, okay. That makes sense! Thank you so much.” Sakuya’s face lit up with a smile. “I hope I’m not too much of a problem.”

She shook her head. “Not at all, Sakuya. This is my job. Now, I’d like to take a tour of the place with everyone so we know what we’re dealing with in terms of space.” She looked over to the team of young investigators. “You guys brought equipment right? I think it’d be useful to set up some cameras as we go through the rooms here. You mentioned someone else on your team. Are they able to keep watch on the cameras?”

“Mhm!~ Itarun can take good care of us. Right, Setzer~!” Kazunari cheered, raising his soda can towards his cohorts.  
Banri hummed, partially ignoring the blonde as he sipped his own drink. “Sure yeah.” 

“Okay…” Izumi huffed. Having them along for this investigation can’t be anything but disappointing. She managed to force a smile as she clapped her hands together. “Well why don’t you boys go ahead and get your equipment to set them up?”

“Okayyy~!” How Kazunari can be so cheerful in this place is a mystery not even Izumi can understand. However, as he passed her on the way out, Izumi sensed his aura switch for a split second once again. She sees his expression grow serious as he leads his friends out; and she remembers the ghastly vision that flashed into her head of the eccentric extrovert filled with overwhelming loneliness.  
It occurs to the woman that the cheerfulness was just a front. 

_For what, though? Why?_

“Ah, can I help at all?” Sakuya called after them, snapping Izumi out of her thoughts.  
At the same time, she felt a switch in the air. It was like a bubble that was building up then popping as that cheerful laugh filled the air.

“Of course, Sakusaku! Let’s go~ piko!” 

Izumi watched Sakuya’s worried expression transform into one of joy. He looked at Masumi, who was standing closely next to him. “Come on. Let’s help!” He laughed, grabbing the stoic boy’s hand and dragging him outside.

Interesting. Kazunari’s enthusiastic front can easily turn a serious situation like this into a fun and carefree teen hangout. Izumi can’t put her finger on whether that’ll become a blessing or a curse in the upcoming future. Either way, it’s something to take note of.

Hearing all the younger members descend the stairs, Izumi turned towards the only one left in the room.

“Matsukawa.”

At the sound of his name, the frazzled man jumped up from his seat. He looked at her with wide eyes behind his crooked glasses. “Y-Yes? I was just attempting to contact the car-carbon mo..monoxide inspectors…?”

Izumi raised her eyebrow, as she glanced at the phone in his hand. She clicked her tongue, shaking her head as she suppressed and eyeroll. “You call a professional technician, I’ll give you the number later. For now, let’s talk.”

It was Matsukawa’s turn to look confused. “Talk? Oh, like about the investigation, right!” He stuffed his phone in his back pocket before clapping his hands together with a goofy smile spreading across his face. “Of course, you’d like to ask the owner of the building about everything that goes on here! Hoho!”  
He looked way too proud of himself.

Izumi felt the tension in her forehead pulse. Turning away, she dug out around in her purse. “We can talk about that later. I was actually wondering if you recognize this name.” She pulled out a small white note and handed it out to him.  
She didn’t need to check if it was the right one, or double check on what’s written on it. She’s already studied the note the days leading up to today. Memorizing the name, the location, time and date. Her father’s handwriting. The mystery of his disappearance is what leads her to this apartment, and if Matsukawa is lost then that brings her back to step one.

“Hmm?” Matsukawa’s confidence dropped as she held it out to him. He adjusted his glasses, taking it from her. His eyes squinted before widening, his skin going pale as he read what the note contains. “S-S-Sakyo Furuchi…” The note crinkled as his grip slowly tightened. He looked up from the paper. “Ah, do you have business with him too, Miss Tachibana?”

“So you do?” After a confirming nod from Matsukawa, a satisfied smile graced Izumi’s lips. _Perfect. Things are finally starting to look up for her._ “Can you tell me what you know about him?”

The two sat at Sakuya’s dining room table and discussed the man named Sakyo. Apparently, he’s a well-known yakuza that owns the building they’re in, along with multiple other ones in Veludo Way. Matsukawa had fallen in debt to him after years of neglect to the building and the few occupants. His depictions of Sakyo are... less than graceful. Picturing him as a tall, threatening figure that holds nothing back. 

“What business did my father have with a yakuza…?” Izumi mumbled, staring holes into the table as she processed the information Matsukawa was feeding her. It’s not like they were low on money or in a bad situation at home. Hell, the only issues stemmed from her parent’s declining relationship due to her father’s devotion to his work. Could he have been a customer...?  
“Matsukawa, I need to get into contact with him as soon as possible.” 

Suddenly, there was a loud yelp from the hall followed by a crash and an obnoxious laughter. Izumi sighed and stood up from her seat. “Send me the number to contact him.” She then walked away to check out the commotion in the hall. Stopping at the door, she peeked out and spotted the rest of their group in the hall. 

Kazunari was laughing, holding a small box in one hand and his phone in his other hand. Next to him, Banri was snickering and offering a hand to Tenma, who was scowling from the floor with a couple pieces of equipment scattered around him. He huffed, pushing away the helping hand and standing up on his own before leaning back down to collect the stuff he dropped.

“Come on, stop playing around! Banri, you paid for all this. What if it breaks?” Tenma complained as he picked up two tripods from the ground.

Banri nonchalantly shrugged, “Eh. Could just buy another one.” He smirked as the ginger rolled his eyes. He was caught off guard when Tenma tossed one of their cameras up to him. “Oof-” Banri managed to catch it, but lost his balance in the process causing him to fall back onto the wall. This brings a laugh out of Tenma.

Beside them, Kazunari was still giggling as he recorded them on his phone.

Izumi watched them, leaning on the doorframe with a small smile on her face. She feels a tug of envy on her heart, seeing them have fun in a time like this. It must be the magic of being young.  
Izumi is only 27, but she feels much older. Like she lost her magic many years ago. 

Tenma notices her standing in the hall and straightens up, losing his smile. He holds up the tripods in each hand, “Uh, we got the equipment.” 

“Great.” Izumi moves from the door frame to allow them to walk inside. “You can just set it on the table until we’re ready.” 

The three listen to her directions, moving past her to get inside. Izumi follows them to the table to check on what they brought, but she stops when she hears a familiar melody.

“Miyoshi, what are you humming?” She looks at the boy, who presses a couple buttons on his phone before stuffing it in his pocket.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Kazunari looks up at her, tilting his head as his brows rise in interest.

“That song you were just humming?” Izumi feels a chill run down her spine as Kazu stares at her in confusion. He wasn’t making a noise. “Was that not you?”

He shakes his head and she glances around at the others, who are all watching her with interest.  
“Didn’t anyone else hear that? Quiet, listen closely.” 

They listen and the room is silent. Izumi closes her eyes to focus on her hearing, but the only thing she can make out is small creaks on the floor. There’s an annoyed sigh from one of the guys and a plop followed by the creaking of a chair. Her guess is Banri. She doesn't budge.

After a minute, a familiar whispered melody sings in her ear. Izumi holds a finger up to signal to the others to focus.

_“Triiiiiiiiii… gle… Maaaaaa… ka… Plaaaane…”_

She opens her eyes and glances to see if they heard it too. The pale faces of Tenma and Matsukawa speak for themselves.

“It’s… It’s the gh-gh-ghost… It’s actually here…” Tenma stutters out in a hushed voice, his hand gripping Banri’s shoulder as his legs start to buckle out of fear. 

Banri clicks his tongue, “Ghosts aren’t real, dipshit. It’s prolly just one of the neighbors singin’ a weird lullaby.”

“Ahh, but I don’t recall any active occupants on this floor though.” Matsukawa nervously scratches his head. “Maybe it’s from upstairs?”

“Why don’t we check it out?” Kazunari hummed, hey turning to face the group with a small smile. 

Tenma was the one to instantly reject the proposal. “Are you insane? That’s a one way ticket to a horror movie ending and I want no part in it!” 

Their third friend in the trio just snickered at Tenma’s panicked response. Banri is a stark contrast to the other two, or maybe even the middle ground. Leaning back in his chair with his legs kicked onto the table, he doesn’t seem to care about the situation at all. There doesn’t seem to be a single thought in his head that’s even a little bit worried about anything that could happen in this building. Or perhaps, he’s just really good at repressing and masking any other emotions that he could possibly be feeling.  
Izumi makes a mental note of that possibility and the trios dynamic as Kazunari waves his hands at Tenma.

“Relax TenTen! It’s gonna be okay! What’s the worst that could happen?”

Tenma looks like he’s about to burst, clenching nearly every muscle in his body as he rushes towards Kazunari with sarcasm dripping in his voice. “Oh, I don’t know, Kazunari. Let me think about it. We die, or a demon possess you, or we all get trapped her forever to die, or-”

**_BAM!_ **

A sting shoots through Izumi’s nerves as she slammed her hand down onto the table in order to silence them. She really didn’t need to do that, but the dramatics of it sends a thrill down her spine as all the attention turns to her.  
She takes a deep breath before speaking:

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. This isn’t some  
Hollywood movie, we need to investigate it clearly to understand the situation we’re in. Where did Sakuya go? If this is a common occurrence, he might have a better idea of what’s going on.”

“Uh-” After a beat passes, Kazunari opened his mouth to speak, but is interrupted by Sakuya walking through the door. He had a bright smile on his face as he carried a box to the table. Following behind him was the opposite image, and unhappy Masumi with nothing.

“Sorry I’m late! I started talking to Itaru in the van and he was showing me some sort of game on his phone.” He explained with a small laugh, setting the box down. “Did I miss something…?”

“Games?” Izumi raised her eyebrow before shaking her head with a sigh. She straightened up, placing her hands on her hips. “Sakuya, have you ever heard anything similar to a voice singing some sort of lullaby?”

Sakuya’s eyes widened and his mouth formed an ‘o’ shape. “I have…! I’ve always heard it ever since I moved in. I could never make out what it was saying, but whenever it started I noticed pieces of paper appearing in the hallway from time to time.”

The woman hummed, glancing towards the open apartment door. She recalled seeing pieces of green construction paper down the hall when they first arrived to the floor. “How well would you say you know your neighbors?”

“Hmmm…” Sakuya tapped his chin, tilting his head as he thought about her question. “Well, I don’t think I have any? At least, not on this floor. There’s a couple people upstairs, but I’ve never heard them sing any strange lullabies.”

“I see…” Izumi squinted her eyes at Sakuya, who shrugged after his answer. “I’d like to speak to the people upstairs during this investigation. Have you ever spoken to them about your experiences to see if they’ve noticed the same things as you?”

Sakuya’s face shifted as he glanced downwards. “Not really... I’d just rather not disrupt them with things like this.” A tense beat passed when Sakuya quickly looked back up with a smile before anyone could respond. “Anyway, I wouldn’t mind asking them about it if you think that’d be a good idea!”

Izumi shifted on her feet with her arms crossed as she watched Sakuya, observing him with focused eyes. He’s a strange kid, living alone in a strange building that’s barely passing health guidelines. She was worried about him from the beginning, but seeing him hesitant to ask for help pulls on her heartstrings more than it should. Maybe it’s that she sees herself in him, forced to grow up too fast with little help from the people around him. A small pitiful smile graces her face as she replies, “Okay…”

With a sigh, she straightens up and her smile falls as she turns away from Sakuya and to the rest of the table. “Sakuya and I will go ask the neighbors about any strange activity they might’ve noticed. I want you all to start setting up cameras in each room and making sure everything works. Sound like a plan?”

“Yep yep, Miss Psychic!~”  
“Sure.”

Kazunari and Banri reply at the same time, their energy on opposite sides of the spectrum. Tenma stays silent, standing behind them with all of his guards put up, but despite his situation, he still nods.

“Can I come?”

Izumi flinches slightly as Masumi appears by Sakuya’s side. He’s been so quiet this entire time that she nearly forgot he was there. His eyes are an empty stare but almost seem to have a fire burning in them as he focuses his gaze. “Oh, uh-” She pauses glancing at the group briefly. “Masumi, you can stay here and help out with everyone else, okay?”

Masumi’s eyes squint into a glare as his mouth turns downwards. He looks at Sakuya, who slides in the middle of him and the woman. 

“It’s okay, Masumi. When you’re finished, you can come find us!” Sakuya grins, waving his hands at his grumpy friend.

“Yeah, you’re going to do great, Masumi.” Izumi nods towards him with a small smile

His eyes widen as his face softens and he nods back. “Okay.”

“Wait that’s not fair! I wanna be praised by Izumi too!” Kazunari whines from the background. This brings a chuckle from Banri and Tenma bangs lightly on his head with a fist. “What? I know y’all want her to praise you too!”  
“Shut up, dumbass.” 

Izumi sighs. Her hope in this group is steadily decreasing with every second that passes. She shakes her head before clapping her hands to grab their attention once again.  
“Get to work, everyone. I’m counting on you guys.”

\-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Stepping onto the third floor, Izumi allows Sakuya to lead the way. The hall isn’t much different than the one below, maybe just a little dimmer. There are four rooms on this floor, and one of the doors is boarded up.  
Izumi stands in the entrance leading from the stairwell and closes her eyes. There’s a mess of different energies drifting around on this floor so it’s hard for her to get a proper reading on what is what. As she focuses her mind on separating and locating them, she recognizes an energy similar to the one she felt the first time she walked up the staircase. The one that radiated from cat-like eyes that watched her ascend the staircase. It wasn’t a bad energy. It was curious and almost felt a little hopeful? And now, it’s coming from the room at the end of the hall.  
Letting out a deep breath, she gains an idea of the other energies on the floor. There’s one that has a very strong presence in the room closest to them; she almost feels drawn to it.  
The other energy in the hall is so subtle, almost like it’s trying to disappear but isn’t allowed to. This one settles a strong feeling of loneliness on her chest.

“Are you okay?” Sakuya’s voice breaks her focus and her eyes open. She can still feel the lingering feelings of the energies tugging at her.

She looks at the younger boy and nods, “Of course. I’m just getting a reading of the floor.” SHe clears her throat before glancing at the doors. “Okay, where are we starting?” 

“Uhh-” Sakuya turns toward the hall and looks at the selection of doors. “I guess we can start at the beginning and move down? I’m just not sure who’s home and who isn’t... “

“That sounds good. It’s okay, we can always come back to them. Just knock.” Izumi gestures towards the first door, pushing lightly on Sakuya’s shoulder. 

He lets out a small squeak, tripping over his own feet as he stumbles towards the door. Unexpectedly, the door swings open, nearly hitting Sakuya, and reveals an average guy a little older than Sakuya. She can tell his hair is dyed as his slightly darker roots peak through his messy light brown hair. He’s in what looks to be a work uniform, a red collared shirt and loose tan pants. He was in the middle of walking out of the door before noticing Sakuya standing in front of him with shocked eyes.  
Pausing, he looks between his neighbor and Izumi in confusion. “Oh, hey? Do you need something?”

“Tsuzuru! Were you just leaving?” 

“Yeah, I have to get to work. Is everything okay, Sakuya? Who’s this?” The red-head’s neighbor, Tsuzuru, glanced at Izumi with a worried look. He seems normal on the outside. He looks like a kind, respectable young man with a welcoming warm aura. Although, the feelings Izumi gets from energy coming from him makes her believe that he’s a lot more than what it seems. 

“O-Oh, yeah! Everything is fine!” Sakuya nodded, stepping back to gesture towards the woman behind him. “This is Izumi Tachibana, she’s a psychic medium... She’s just checking the building out…”

Izumi smiled, bowing her head to the other boy. “Nice to meet you. Tsuzuru, was it?”

“A medium? Hmm, figures…” Tsuzuru mumbles with a sigh before returning a smile. “I’m Tsuzuru Minagi, hope we get along, ma’am.”

“Yes, me too. I see, you’re on your way out, but I was hoping you could spare a few minutes to talk about any strange encounters you might’ve had in the complex?”

He hummed as he closed the door behind him, checking his phone briefly before shaking his head. “I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t. I’m kind of under a time restraint and that might take more than a few minutes. Maybe another time?”

Maybe there are actually useful people in this building. She can work with this. “Ahh, I completely understand. Of course, I’ll probably be here for a few days so you can find me in Sakuya’s apartment downstairs. Or…” Izumi pulled her wallet out of her pocket and pulled out a small rectangular card. “Here’s my business card, or it was my father’s, but I added my personal number to it so just give me a call when you have the time.”

Tsuzuru took the card, “Thank you. I’ll definitely give you a call.” He looked at Sakuya with a smile. “I have to head out, but take care of yourself okay? I’ll see you.” He waved as he started walking towards the staircase.

Sakuya lightened up, beaming as he waved bye to his friend. “Stay safe, Tsuzuru!”

“He’s nice.” Izumi said once Tsuzuru left. She looked back to Sakuya then at the remaining doors. “Who’s next?”

Sakuya had a little bit more confidence after meeting with one of his neighbors. Yet, he was still hesitant slightly as he approached the next door. “I’m not really sure if Azuma will be home at the moment, but we can try.” He knocked lightly. “A little warning, he can be kind of intense sometimes…”

After a moment of silence, there was a noise behind the door before they heard a voice call to them from inside. “Coming!”

There was the sound of a door shutting from inside and then footsteps getting louder before the door in front of them opens revealing a very attractive man with long white hair falling over his shoulders. 

“Well, hello there little Saku. How are you this evening? And who’s this lovely lady behind you?” He greeted the two with a charming smile. Izumi felt a blush creep up on her. How strange, his presence has an alluring aura, it was almost intimidating to breathe air as a man prettier than her. The energy coming off of him doesn’t match the energy she sensed coming off of this room early. His was calm, intimate, but there was a hint of loneliness coming off of him. The one she felt earlier was a lot more... hidden... and even now, if she can just focus she can still feel it in that room, hiding from view.

Izumi cleared her throat, straightening up and bowing her head to him. “I’m Izumi Tachibana. Nice to meet you, sir. I’m a psychic medium, here to investigate any strange encounters that have been reported.”

“Miss Tachibana…” Azuma stepped out of his apartment, passing Sakuya and letting the door shut behind him. He hummed sensually, squinting his eyes as he closed the space in between him and Izumi. “What do you use?”

Izumi furrowed her eyebrows, choking back on her words as the blush returned to her cheeks. “I’m sorry?”

Azuma let out a giggle as he moved back, “Your skin is so clear! What product do you use?” 

“Huh!?” Izumi stared at him aghast. “I-? Thank you? I don’t have a specific product, I guess?” She blinked and stepped back, shaking her head to get back to her senses. “Wait, I’m sorry I don’t really understand what’s happening here.” She glanced over at Sakuya, who just shrugged his shoulders in response. 

“My apologies, darling. I’m Azuma Yukishiro, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

“Yukishiro…” Izumi paused as his name echoed in her head. “I’ve heard your name somewhere before.”

He clapped his hand, lacing his fingers together as he leaned against his apartment door. “Well, you might’ve heard it on the radio before. A couple months back me and an associate started a radio show. I’m so happy to hear that it’s starting to get around.”

“I see…” Izumi paused before shaking her head. “Let’s get back on track. Are you busy at the moment?”

“Ah, no not at all! I always have time to spare for my dear Saku and his friend. Would you like to come inside for a drink? We can talk there. It’s a little stuffy out in the hall.”

“Sure? Sakuya, is that okay with you?” Izumi looked to the young boy for permission.

He quickly nodded. “Oh yes, that’s fine!” 

“Perfect~.” Azuma purred, turning back as he turned the doorknob and opened the door. “Make yourself at home.”

The white haired man held the door open for them as they walked through. His apartment was a lot nicer than the rest of the building. It was a similar layout to Sakuya’s apartment, except the air was less stuffy and felt more clean. Despite the building he lived in, you can tell he took extra care in his surroundings and belongings. Everything looked almost new and perfectly organized. It was incredibly inviting, and yet Izumi still felt a hint of sadness floating in the room.

“Now,” Azuma made his way towards the kitchen after the other two found themselves standing in his living room. “What would you two like to drink? I have water, wine, tea, beer. Izumi, what’s your favorite beverage? I’m more of a wine drinker, myself, but I have a small collection of whiskey forming if that’s your thing.” 

Izumi shook her head as she said, “Water is fine. But thank you.”

“Suit yourself. Sakuya?”

Sakuya found a seat in Azuma’s living room. He seems to have been here before.“Can I have some tea, please?”

“Of course, honey.”

Izumi watched the older man move gracefully around his kitchen. With ease, he started boiling water for the tea, pouring himself a glass of wine, and getting her a cup of water all at the same time. He moves like he’s done it a million times before, almost like a bartender. As he prepares drinks, he glances at them over his shoulder and spots Izumi standing by the door. “Don’t be shy, dear! My home is your home. I want to make you feel as comfortable as possible.”

“Oh, uh-” Izumi’s face heats up as she glances around his living room in a daze. She quickly sits next to Sakuya, her mouth is dry and she struggles to get a word of thanks out of her lips. She clears her throat and when she looks up, she’s greeted with a glass of water being held out to her. “Th-Thanks…” She stutters out as she takes the glass from him.

“What was it that you wanted to ask me about?” The man asked as he made his way back to the kitchen.

Izumi collected herself, taking a deep breath to calm her own nerves and started to speak. “As I said before, I’m here investigating some strange activity that has been reported in the area. So I’m asking Sakuya’s neighbors if they’ve experienced anything out of the ordinary while living here.”

Azuma leaned his hip on his kitchen counter, he was holding his glass of wine as he waited for the tea to be ready. “I see, I apologize but I don’t believe I’ll be much help. I don’t spend much time here after all. I mostly take care of the place for a friend of mine.”

“A friend? Does anyone else live here?”

“But let me think… Strange activity, huh?” He ignored her question, tapping his chin as he thought about his answer. “I’d say my life is full of strange activity. Is there anything specific on your mind, dear?”

She sighed, and glanced down at Sakuya who nodded for her to go on. “On the floor below this one, Sakuya and I, along with the rest of the group we’re with, heard a voice singing some lullaby. We thought it might be coming from this floor. Have you heard anything like that?”

A confused look came across Azuma, furrowing his eyebrows with a tilt of his head. “A voice singing a lullaby…? Yes, I do recall hearing that quite a lot during my time here. I never really questioned it because I assumed it was the cute little spunky blue boy that lives on that floor. Have you spoken to him about your inquiry yet?”

It was Izumi’s turn to be confused. “Huh?” She turned to Sakuya who shared her expression. “I thought it was only you living on the floor, Sakuya.”

“Yeah… Matsukawa said so too.” 

The teapot let out a high pitched squeal and Azuma removed it from the stove, preparing a cup for Sakuya. “How strange.” He hummed, “He comes to visit me whenever I’m staying here. Sweet boy, but it’s strange that you haven’t met him yet. Haven’t even crossed paths? He’s been living here for as long as I’ve been staying here.”

Azuma walked back into the room, offering Sakuya the cup of tea before sitting across from them. Sakuya accepted the cup, holding it in his lap. “I don’t think so. I’ve only met the people on this floor.”

“Yukishiro, is this person the friend you mentioned earlier?” Izumi asked, leaning forward in her seat. 

“Hmm? What friend?”

“Uh, nevermind. Can you tell us anything else about this boy downstairs?”

“Of course! Let’s see, he’s very flexible and so energetic. He’s always bringing me these cute little paper planes. Super friendly, maybe a little naive.” Azuma pauses, looking into the wine as it swirls in his cup. He purrs, “Very, very vulnerable…” 

“What do you mean by ‘vulnerable’, Yukishiro?”

“Oh, nothing~” He lifts his gaze and meets Izumi’s eyes. There’s a mischievous glint in his eyes that causes static to run down her body, raising the hair on her arms and making her shiver.

She senses an uneasy feeling settle over her. In the background, she hears the sound of shuffling along with muffled sounds of doors opening and closing. Breaking eye contact, she turns to look behind them, staring at the door at the end of the room.  
“What’s that? Is there someone else here?”

Azuma waves his hand dismissively, standing up from his seat. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about, my dear. I apologize, but I’ll have to cut this meeting here short, I seem to have some business to attend to.” He places his glass on a coaster on his side table as he makes his way to the front door, waving them to follow.

While Izumi hesitates, Sakuya sets his tea down and starts to follow him. “You’ve been a lot of help, Azuma. Thank you so much. I’m sorry if we intruded.”

Azuma let out a giggle, placing his hand on Sakuya’s head and ruffling his hair. “You’ve done no such thing, little Saku. I’m happy to help as much as I can.”

Izumi places her water down beside Sakuya’s tea before rising from her seat. Her eyes lock on the door at the end of the room. She senses a great amount of energy and pain coming from behind that door. She hears her name called, and she breaks her focus from the energy and follows Sakuya to the front door.

Izumi smiles at Azuma as he opens the door for them. “Thank you for the hospitality, Yukishiro. You’ve helped us a bit, I hope we can talk more in the near future.” 

“My pleasure, darling. I hope we meet again.” Azuma's voice sings in her head and follows her as she leaves his apartment with Sakuya trailing behind her. “Bye bye~.” The door closes behind them.

“He was very strange…” Izumi stared back at the door they just walked through. She heard Sakuya mumble something under his breath and she shifted her attention to him.

“I can’t believe someone’s been living on my floor and I didn’t even know.” Sakuya had his face twisted in a complicated expression. He was unreadable to even Izumi. 

She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small squeeze, pulling him away from himself. “I’m guessing Matsukawa didn’t know either. He doesn’t seem to be the most dependable person here. We can go check once we’re finished up here.” 

Perking up, he smiled at her and nodded. “Okay-”

“I finished.” 

The sudden presence by their side caused Izumi to flinch slightly, pulling her hand away from Sakuya as she turned towards the source. Masumi stood in front of them, focusing on the hand that was on Sakuya’s shoulder. 

Izumi smiled at him, putting her hands on her hips. “You guys finished already? Good job, Masumi. What is everyone doing now?”

“I dunno.” He blinked, moving his gaze to meet her eyes. “I came as soon as we finished setting everything up. Like you told me.”

“Alright, thanks Masumi. We’re almost done up here, if you want to stick with us for now.” 

Masumi’s eyes shifted to the floor with a nod, “Sure.”

“So,” Sakuya spoke as he turned towards the last door. “I’m not actually sure if this next person will be much help. He’s even more strange than the rest in his own way…”

Masumi spoke up, “Who is it?” 

“It’s Citron! I think I’ve mentioned him a few times to you. He always has the best stories!”

“Sa! Ku! Ya!” As if summoned, A sing-song voice exploded from the last door as it swung open and a pretty foreign man popped out. “I knew I heard you call my name!~ Are you here to visit again? And you brought friends!”

“Ah!” A split-second passed and the man named CItron scooped Sakuya up from under his arms and lifted him as he hugged him tightly. “P-Put me down please!”

Citron obliged, placing Sakuya on the ground with an apology. “Ahh, soorryyy~” He quickly perked back up, holding his hands together as he scanned the group with a wide and friendly grin. “Hello! I am Citron, a friend of Sakuya’s is a friend of mine!” 

Izumi could tell immediately that he was the one giving off the energy at the staircase and as she locked eyes with him she realized immediately who he was. His blue eyes have a yellowish-green shine to them as he locks eyes with her. There’s a pause of recognition between them and they’re back in the staircase. In those eyes hold a different energy, a calm and secure energy compared to who he is on the outside.

Breaking the seal, Izumi observed him, her eyes scanning his body for any hint of something unusual. “Izumi Tachibana, I’m a psychic medium here investigating strange activity that has been reported in the building.”

“Oooh! A meme burn stylist?”

“Ah, no- A psychic medium, that means I am able to communicate with the spirit world in a way other people can’t.”

“Oooooh, I understand!” Citron’s mouth turned into an ‘o’, he reached forward and grabbed her hands. “That is a very magical gift! Please teach me!”

Izumi was slightly taken aback from this, glancing at Sakuya for help. “Ah, I don’t think I can help you with that…” She trailed off as the other boy started to pull him away from her.

“Citron!” Sakuya tugged on his clothes to get his attention causing the other man to pop up.

“Sakuya!” He cheered and grabbed one of the boy’s hands. Him and Sakuya laughed together, both holding hands with Izumi.  
Masumi stood on the outside, finding the interaction unusual, his eyebrows furrowed at the close contact between the three. He caught Sakuya’s eye, who stepped back and reached his hand out to him. Masumi hesitated, scowling as he gave in and taking his friend’s hand and joining the group. Next to him, Izumi offered him her hand. His gaze shifted downward as his face started to heat up, he accepted her hand. The four of them were standing in a circle hand-in-hand in the middle of the hallway.

After a minute-long pause, Sakuya spoke up. “So Citron… Can we ask you a few questions?”

Citron squeezed the hands that he was holding and nodded. “Yes! What is it you need?”

“Well…” Izumi started, slowly taking control of the situation. She decided a different approach to the questions. “How long have you been staying in this apartment, and how well do you know the other people living here?”

The man swung his arms lightly as he thought of his answer. “I believe a year! It has been a long time. I know my good friends Sakuya, Tsuzuru, and Azuma. But many uninvited guest make themself at home and steal my homecook meals. It is very unfair.” He made a pouting face at the last sentence, bringing a small laugh from Sakuya. “I have not met them but its the only explanation.”

Izumi questioned him.  
“An uninvited guest? What do you mean by that? Someone breaks into your apartment, or there’s something living there that you don’t know?” 

Citron nodded his head, “Yes! A snakey thief is in the building! Much too fast for Citron to catch them.”

“I see…” Izumi nodded, glancing in Sakuya’s direction and catch his eye. He must be thinking the same she is. “Have you noticed anything else strange during your stay here?”

“Yes!” Citron exclaimed, squeezing their hands tightly. And then he started quickly listing things off. “Tsuzuru always comes back so so late and so so grumpy. Azuma and his little friend and his large friend always disappear and reappear when you need them. My friends in the shadows are always so nosy I do not like them! The staircase is very snuffy and falls apart so easily. Matsukawa cries so easily when the Japanese yakusa comes to visit him…”

“Hey wait-” Izumi’s eyes widened as she tried to interrupt him. 

“...And the wallpaper doesn't match the flooring. Shame on Matsukawa for not getting a proper designer. It is just very messy and…”

“Please one thing at a time, sir-”

“There are already very estrange people here so you do your job good and we are happy to have you! Was I of any help?” Citron’s beamed at the shorter girl, his grin stretched across his face.  
Izumi stared back at him, her eyes wide with confusion. His words had entered her ears at a rapid speed, none of which she could comprehend in a cohesive thought. Everything he said crowded in her brain, causing a drain in her energy.

Her head ached as she smiled weakly at him. He was too happy to be helpful that she felt bad breaking his spirit. “Yeah, Citron. You did great, thanks for the help.”

“Hurray!!” Citron let go of Sakuya’s hand and pulled her Izumi into a hug. “I hope you well be helpful to me too!”

Feeling too bad to deny his hug, Izumi patted his arm lightly. Then what he said reached her ears. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Citron left their embrace, clapping his hands together with his signature grin. “My apologize, Izumi! I must leave fast and furious and disappear. I hope we meet again~” 

“Yeah…” 

Citron said his goodbyes to Sakuya and waved at Masumi and Izumi as he went back into his apartment, closing the door behind him.

The three left standing in the hall stared at the spot the strange man once stood. Izumi cleared her throat, looking at the other two around her and letting a small smile come to her face. “So that was…”

Sakuya turned towards her with an unsure grin. “Sorry, he’s kind of intense…”

“He’s a total freakshow.” Masumi stated, glaring at the door to Citron’s apartment.

Sakuya chuckled, nudging Masumi as he shook his head. “Masumi, be nice.”

Shaking her head, Izumi stepped in front of him and forced him to turn back down the hall. “Don’t say that Masumi. He’s nice, just a little odd.” She started walking back towards the staircase with the others in tow. She spoke as she walked, “Hey Sakuya, did you understand anything Citron said? Anything valuable? I had a little trouble…”

They started to descend down the staircase. “Ah, not really. He was just really excited to meet you.” Sakuya replied.

“I could tell. He said something about me helping him too. Or did he mean something else…?”

“Sounded like a bunch of garbage to me.” Masumi mumbled behind her.

“Hmm, maybe.” 

They returned to Sakuya’s floor and they could hear the laughter of the teen investigation group in his apartment from the doorway of the staircase. Izumi’s eyes scanned the hall, she spotted the triangle shaped construction paper on the floor beside the door across from Sakuya’s. She tugged on Sakuya’s flannel and pointed at the door.

“Sakuya, do you think that’s where the boy lives?” She glanced at him and he was looking back at her with wide eyes. “Did you ever notice those shapes appearing in the hall?”

“Ah, I’ve never thought about that.” He took a step down the hallway, approaching the door. “It sounds weird, but I never really questioned the little shapes that appeared around the hall. I just thought it was like the building leaving little gifts.”

Izumi followed Sakuya as they walked towards the door. “Gifts? What? That’s not really a thing…” He leaned down and picked up the little paper triangle, inspecting it.

“So simple minded…” Masumi mumbled, trailing behind the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahah... I'm back. Hi, I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. It's like over 8k words and I didn't get to fit everything I wanted into it, but it's okay I don't want to overload it too much.  
> A little information: Almost everyone has some sort of "supernatural" aspect to them. That's why the neighbors you meet act a little strange... Try to guess what their deal is in the comments if you'd like.  
> It's a little slow moving, but alas I hope you enjoy. I'll try to get the 3rd chapter out as fast as I can! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello this is gonna be a long series and might take me a while to write please be patient with me. I'm also not used to writing fics for fandoms so please please take care of me <3  
> I'll try my best to do proper characterization  
> Also next chapter you get an actual encounter with a uhhh 'ghost' yeah aha


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